reviews

Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 132-133

True to its circus motifs, SuperS is performing a delicate balancing act.

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There is something decidedly odd about the tone of this season. It’s not bad, it’s just sort of… dissonant, I guess? There’s a lightheartedness to it that’s tremendously entertaining, an immaturity to the characters that doesn’t quite gel with the big strides they made last season, a beauty that shades its best moments in wistfulness, and a darkness to the overtones and imagery that’s at times downright uncomfortable. Put simply, the mood is all over the map, fluctuating as much as its main character’s mental state.

And when I say “main character,” I’m not talking about Usagi. No, SuperS has shifted its focus to Chibiusa, a notion that would’ve sent me running for the hills 60 episodes ago but doesn’t much bother me right now. (Although I sure hope we get some decent Moonie episodes along the way, too.) So what we’re seeing, I think, is a world reflecting its character’s psychology.

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My Love Story!! – Episode 20: “My Chocolate”

I’m not sure which of us is going to die of sugar overdose first: Me, or Takeo.

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It’s Valentine’s Day, which means love and loneliness are out in full force this week. As with Christmas, Japan imported this holiday from the west and then put their own spin on it, so I’ve included a super-sized Sensei Next Door at the end of this post to give everyone some cultural context. For now, though, let’s just focus on the main event: CHOCOLATE. Sweet, delicious chocolate.

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Snow White with the Red Hair – Episode 7: “Let Me Hear”

Facing your fears is hard. Facing your idols is darn near impossible.

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We pick up right where we left off both in terms of story and visuals, as Shirayuki pretty literally climbs a barrier to reach Zen, and the two renew their promise to stick by each other regardless of what others (even the crown prince himself) may think about it. I’m glad last week’s “cliffhanger” ending turned out to be a big tease, because anything less than direct communication would’ve seemed just plain out of character for these two.

Their relationship continues to be wonderfully comfortable, almost casual, filled with little gestures of physical affection and defined by their honesty with one another. Snow White‘s romance doesn’t have the high “squee” factor that a lot of shoujo do, but that just makes it feel all the more solid and real, a bedrock upon which both characters can plant their feet even when the world around them is fraught with tremors.

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GANGSTA. – Episode 7: “Birth”

It’s not just the lighting that’s dark and murky around here.

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I hope you watched this one with your blinds drawn, ’cause otherwise you may not have had the faintest clue what was going on half the time. Don’t get me wrong: GANGSTA has some very good reasons both thematically and practically to place its characters in lots of lightless rooms covered in long shadows with only the occasional faint ray of moonlight passing through barred windows, but man, was my tablet unhappy about it. In addition to those “work of fiction” and “subtitles” notes at the start of each episode, they really oughta add a “best viewed in a closet” notification, too.

Okay, lighthearted snarking over. Let’s get to the serious stuff.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 130-131

Cirque du Ombre: It’s fun for the whole family!

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SuperS feels strangely like a throwback to the most entertaining episodes of the first season, and while I suppose that could be considered jarring or even a step back in terms of plot/maturity level, I’m apparently having a lot of fun with it given the sheer amount of words I’ve written, snickered, and snarked about it below. So in the interest of keeping everyone’s eyes from glazing over, I’ll skip out on any in-depth opening chatter and let the recaps do the talking this week.

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Snow White with the Red Hair – Episode 6: “The Back Full of Meaning”

And you thought your older siblings were bossy.

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The crown prince is back in town, and he’s not at all happy with the state of the Shirayunion. His concern over his brother’s recent perceived dalliances leads to a series of confrontations and surprise meetings which shake Shirayuki’s confidence, leave the usually self-assured Zen off-balance and defensive, and provide our young couple with the first real challenge to their relationship.

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Panning the Stream: Summer 2015 Midseason Review

Things’re really heating up, and I ain’t just talking about these August temperatures.

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The summer season is halfway(-ish) over but it feels like many of its shows are just getting started. Some shaky premieres nevertheless rife with potential have taken off in recent weeks, building momentum through character and plot development alike. My watch list isn’t quite as deep as it was in, say, the winter season, nor are the shows quite as across-the-board ambitious, but there’s a lot of variety, and the pure entertainment level is maybe higher than it’s been all year. I’m genuinely excited for the next episode of just about everything, and that’s a very good sign.

As for what I’m most excited about, you’ll just have to hit the jump to find out.

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GANGSTA. – Episode 6: “Thorn”

This week’s forecast: Cloudy with a chance of bigotry.

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Maaaan, but GANGSTA can be mighty bleak sometimes. I’m not complaining, mind you, as it does “pensive and faintly tragic” exceptionally well, but there were moments that were so quietly, matter-of-factly sad that the sky wasn’t the only thing that felt like crying. This really isn’t a show interested in making you want to go out and raise some hell in Ergastulum in the way that, say, Black Lagoon or Baccano did; it knows its world is deeply broken, and it makes that emphatically clear to its audience.

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Sailor Moon Newbie Reviews: Episodes 128-129

It’s ‘bout to get Sailor Moon SuperSurreal up in here.

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The comments after last week’s S finale were almost entirely about how divisive this new season is among fans, which oddly enough made me even MORE stoked to watch it. Where will I fall on the SuperScale? Will I enjoy this arc warts and all? Or despise it with the fires of a thousand suns?

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